Paradise weather may cool off in October

It looks as if the hotter days of summer have finally subsided. Autumn officially began on Sept. 22, but the thermometer was logging hot temperatures through the beginning of October.

"We're moving more toward the season normals right now compared to the month of September," said Karl Swanberg, a forecaster with the National Weather Service. "We had a warm September and beginning of October, but we've switched around to more fall-like weather."

He said the warm September can be attributed to a persistent blocking high pressure over much of the state. In other words, he said the system didn't move and stayed "parked over California."

And now that temperatures are cooling down, the next big question is – when will it rain?

Swanberg said, at best, there is a 20 percent chance of rain Friday or Friday night. There were some thunderstorms and showers over the past couple of days in the Burney area, but nothing significant is on the radar for Paradise, he said.

He said a weak low-pressure system off the coast will be just enough to trigger some moisture, but will be in the higher elevation areas.

In fact, he said temperatures will go up to the mid-70s over the weekend and probably be in the 80s on Monday.

With the fall season under way, winter will be creeping up to the forefront of Ridge life in just a few months.

Swanberg said, at this time there is no strong indication of how this winter will turn out.

"There is nothing real distinct right now," he said. "We have equal chances for temperatures above or below normal. We have similar equal chances for precipitation. There is no strong signal."

Temperatures for today through Friday will be around the low 70s and low 50s, according to the National Weather Service website.